Blackman Talks Starfleet Uniforms

When he sat down to design the costumes for Enterprise, Robert Blackman knew that he wanted the Starfleet uniforms to be as realistic as possible.

Blackman spent two weeks designing the uniforms, and another week researching fabrics in order to create the right blend of realism, comfort and functionality. Indeed, these uniforms are so functional that they come with thirteen zippers.

"By 2051 we probably won't have done away with currency, with keys. The pockets reflect a little bit of who we are now," Blackman told USA Weekend.

Another unique feature of the new uniforms are the Enterprise patches, which depict a miniature version of the ship. "I really pushed hard for these," Blackman said. "If you look at NASA astronauts, they look like race car drivers. Their suits are covered with patches. This is a ship patch and it's the only one we're going to have on our suits. I wanted name patches too, but this is a start."

Blackman also talked about the design philosophy behind the costumes for the mysterious Suliban. "The Suliban are the villains," he said. "The costumes are made to appear to be a similar texture as skin because these aliens have the ability to metamorphose into other things."

The full USA Weekend feature also includes images of prototype uniforms. The website also has a short interview with Scott Bakula (Jonathan Archer) available here. Thanks to T-bird for this!